The Proverbial Proverbs 31 Woman

Happy Mother's Day!

And here it is, yet another devotional based on Proverbs 31, actual verses 10-31.

10Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
¹¹ The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
¹² She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
¹³ She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
¹⁵ She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
¹⁶ She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
¹⁷ She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
¹⁸ She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
¹⁹ She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
²⁰ She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
²² She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
²³ Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
²⁵ Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
²⁶ She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
²⁷ She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
²⁹ Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
³⁰ Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

I have had times in the past 25 years of marriage that I hated these verses. I guess when you are younger, you think this is some laundry list of stuff you are supposed to be and you will never live up to it. And many times in my life, probably for the most of 48 Mother's Days, it has been presented that way.....This is what you are supposed to be doing.... and I have spent many years thinking, IMPOSSIBLE!!!  But as I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I am realizing this is just a list of what we do and I absolutely love the fact that even back in Old Testament times, it was made known that basically women could do it all.

I have friends who are stay-at-home moms. It is a very important job, and when things in your life are right so you can stay at home with your kids and you want to stay at home with your kids, then that is probably what God is wanting you to do too. I am going to back up and just say, please, at some point in your young life, get some working history out there. As much as the people you are caring for know you work hard, it doesn't count as often in the workforce and there may come a time you may want or need to go back to work. Even though as a stay-at-home mom, you do about everything imaginable that would be needed in the workforce, you need to have worked for somebody else. Personal experience here, my mom married right out of high school and they started their family. When she was 40 and my dad died, it was much harder to get a job because she had no "work experience", Laughable I know, but true.

I also have friends that are in the workforce, and have continued to be while having children. I have seen first hand, those friends be put down because of that, and I think this verse stands up for the fact that if that is what is best for your life, then that is what God wants you to be doing. Afterall, does the Proverbs 31 woman not buy land, and make linen to sell? It doesn't say that she looks at the land and then has her husband buy it, and it doesn't say she has her husband sell her linen. It says she does that.  and she delivers the girdles she has made to the merchants. That to me is being in the workplace.

I had the pleasure of getting to stay home and then getting to return to work. My original intention was to not quit work. When I found out I was pregnant, we were close enough that I had planned on finding day care and continue working. By the time I was half-way through my pregnancy, I felt the pull to stay home with our baby at least for a while. Andrew laughed at me because long before I ever dated him, he and I had quite an argument over that very thing. He made the statement one day while we were eating lunch in the employee lounge, that he knew there were some instances where both parents had to work, but if the husband's job afforded it, he thought the wife should stay home and take care of the house and the family. When we started dating, this was one of the first things we discussed. See, I had called him a male chauvinist pig that day, and yes, he was my boss and no, I didn't care. As mentioned above, my mom stayed home, spent tireless hours taking care of her house and her family and in the government and the workforce arena, it didn't matter. He told me that he had learned to understand that I would want to work even when we had kids, and he was fine with that. We ended up moving to Pennsylvania just 6 weeks before Robert was born. I was so glad the decision to stay home was already in place because I didn't know anyone well enough to want to leave my baby with them.

I loved being a stay-at-home mom up to the point until the guys would both come home with all of these stories of what happened in their lives that day and I would state how many loads of laundry I got done. Then, I was trying to teach Robert to help around the house, because more than likely, when he got married, his wife would need to work too and it really should take both of you to keep things going, to me, that is one of those really neat feelings about marriage. Working together to make life successful. That being said, it is a good day when I have the laundry started, the house straightened and my daily chores done before I leave for work, then come home, finish the laundry, get supper going, do a few evening chores and be able to sit and enjoy my family for a few hours when they all get home.  I just love being in the workforce too though. A few weeks ago one of my friends posted on facebook that if you are always hating Mondays so bad, maybe you should find a new job. Agreed.

There are so many other things in the proverb for us though. We seem to pick out the ones that says you should work, work, and work. but I am going to put The Message translation out here too.

Hymn to a Good Wife

^10-31 A good woman is hard to find,
    and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
    and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
    all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
    and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
    and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
    for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
    then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
    rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
    is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
    diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
    reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
    their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
    and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
    when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
    brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
    and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
    and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
    and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
    her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
    but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
    The woman to be admired and praised
    is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
    Festoon her life with praises!

 

Do you see it stand out a bit more that she knows she is a treasure too? She is not a wallflower people! She is one of those people who you know, if you want something done, she is the one to go to. I'm going to tell you, over the years, I hope people see me as that person as well. She also takes care of herself, which really gets overlooked.

 

It all boils down to verse 30: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. or in The Message version: Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
    The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Bottom line: if you are looking to God for your guidance, all of these things will fall into place. You will become the woman He wants you to be and just exactly the woman your husband and family needs.

 

There are also plenty of women out there who God has called different directions from having kids or a husband, the thing is, God has a life for you, and as long as you are looking to Him for your direction, I am going to just remind you, He has a plan.

 

Happy Mother's Day!